Pikes Peak Summit | Colorado 14er Dayhike | For Better or Bikes

Pikes Peak Summit a Colorado 14er Dayhike via Northwest Slope
I dressed and packed in preparation for the worst. Went into it willing to turn around and not summit should things get bad.

My friend and I started hiking and all seemed well. We even commented on how it "wasnt that bad."

Trails and weather were great until the final approach to the summit. The wind picked up to 35+ mph and the snow began to come down. The rock scramble to the top was icy and vision was limited. We pushed on since we knew the summit house and hot coffee was only a half mile away.

The summit house was closed. It was -15 or more. We scrambled to find shelter from the wind so we could change neck/face cover, change gloves, eat a snack, and fire up some hand warmers.

Shit! We gotta get the hell outta here... NOW!

We opted to run the road down to the entrance to Devil's Playground as the rocks would be dangerously slick and we couldnt take a chance at injury. We couldnt hardly see as the wind and snow were pelting our faces. I held a leg warmer over the side of my face to block the wind and snow from hitting my eyes. (Next time bring goggles...glasses freeze.)

Stopped in the porta-pots at devils playground to get our gear situated and gather ourselves.

Proceeded down the trail in 4+ inches of snow. Going was slow, but we had to push on.

Eventually got below tree-line and the wind ceased, but temps continued to drop. We got a bit chilly by the end, but made it safely.

Gear List
Wearing: Thermal shirt, fleece sweater, wind/water proof jacket, fleece hat, fleece neck warmer, thermal tights, 2nd set of tights, merino wool socks, 5 finger winter gloves, sunglasses (useless)

Packed in Ultimate Direction Pack: thermal tights, thermal shirt, lobster claw gloves, hand warmers, leg warmers, wool socks, emergency (foil) blanket, GPS, chapstick, water, 3x cliff bars

Strava:   / strava